Resilient brace

ABSTRACT

A resilient brace ( 7 ) has first and second attachment portions ( 9, 11 ) formed at either end and a resilient portion ( 13 ) located therebetween, the resilient portion comprising a plurality of planar sections ( 15 ) orientated in a corrugated manner. The attachment portions lie on the same plane on which a stress axis is also located. The planar sections ( 15 ) are angled relative to one another and to the attachment portions so that each planar section ( 15 ) extends laterally of the stress axis.

The present invention relates to a resilient brace for bracing togethertwo portions of stud walling.

Stud walling is a common method of construction of interior walls in thebuilding industry. A stud wall comprises a framework of vertical andhorizontal beams on to which plasterboard, for example, may be securedto construct interior walls of a building. To improve the soundproofingof partition walls it is known to construct a ‘twin frame partition’ byplacing two sections of stud walling together, with a gap inbetween thetwo sections. A problem associated with twin frame partitions is thatabove a certain size the inherent flexibly of the stud walling makeseach side of the partition prone to flexing and bowing. To avoid this itis known to fasten the two sections of the partition together using abracket. However, the stiff bracket transmits acoustic vibrations acrossthe gap, thus reducing the soundproofing performance of the partition.

It has previously been known to connect two portions of stud wallingtogether by securing a bracket to each of the two portions of studwalling and connecting the two brackets together using a resilientconnector. The resilient connector may, for example, be in the form of anut and bolt threaded through a large rubber washer, the rubber washerbeing fastened between the two securing brackets.

A frame member for a sound attenuating wall is disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 3,950,912. The frame member is formed by two elements interconnectedby weakened portions of material. Wall sheets may be attached to eachframe member element. As each wall sheet is attached to a separate fameelements sound attenuation is provided, yet, because the separateelements are interconnected, the frame can be handled as a single piece.

An alternative known brace comprises a substantially planar piece ofstrip spring metal that is folded over on itself twice so as to form asubstantially “S” or “Z” shape, the top and bottom arms of the shapebeing extended to form attachment brackets that are in turn secured tothe respective parts of the stud walls. Although this brace has theadvantage of being a single strip of metal, it has the disadvantage thatcompressive or tensile forces acting upon it tend to either “roll-up” or“unroll” the folded parts of the brace, and consequently the brace isrelatively stiff and prone to transmitting vibrational forces.

International patent application WO-A-01 33007 discloses a constructionbeam having a pair of lateral members and a resilient web extendingtherebetween. The resilience of the web helps to attenuate soundtransmission through the beam from one lateral member to the other. Theresilient web is made from a unitary piece of material. The web ispreferably provided with spacers formed thereon, so that the lateralmembers can be easily oriented relative to the web and to each other, soas to be self-jigging. The spacers may conveniently be formed by cuttingand bending tabs in the material of the web in desired locations.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a load bearing resilient bracefor connecting together two portions of stud walling that is easy tomanufacture and fit and that exhibits improved sound absorptionqualities over the known prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided aresilient brace for connecting together first and second elements of astud wall, the resilient brace comprising first and second attachmentportions attachable to the first and second stud wall elementsrespectively, the first and second attachment portions being locatedsubstantially on a stress axis along which stresses act between saidstud wall elements, the resilient brace further comprising anintermediate resilient portion extending between the attachment portionsas a continuous extension thereof with at least three successive planarportions angled relative to one another and the attachment portions bymeans of respective folds so that each planar portion extends laterallyof the stress axis, characterised in that: each fold between adjacentplanar portions is perforated by two holes equally spaced about thecentral axis of the brace, whereby the stiffness of each fold betweenadjacent planar portions is reduced.

Preferably, successive planar portions extend laterally one way and thenthe other relative to the stress axis and progressively in one directionalong the stress axis.

Additionally, one or more of the planar portions may extend across thestress axis.

Preferably the resilient brace is symmetrical about a central plane thatis normal to the stress axis.

Preferably, the planar portions are angled relative to one another atsubstantially the same angle.

The first and second attachment portions may be of equal or unequallength or may be extended by an attachment.

Additionally or alternatively, the resilient brace may have a number ofintermediate resilient portions interconnected by one or more furtherelements extending along or parallel with the stress axis. This providesthe advantage that the building elements may be secured together atdifferent distances from each other.

Preferably the resilient brace comprises spring steel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda stud wall comprising first and second wall portions and a resilientbrace connecting together said first and second wall portions,characterised in that the resilient brace comprises a resilient braceaccording to any one of claims 1 to 8.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a blanking plate prior to being formed into a braceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a resilient brace according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the resilient brace shown in FIG. 2 formedfrom a blanking plate shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a resilient brace according to thepresent invention in use;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a resilient brace according to thepresent invention in conjunction with an extension plate when in use,and

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b show further embodiments of a resilient braceaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a substantially planar elongate blanking plate 1 of springsteel from which a resilient brace according to an embodiment of thepresent invention can be formed. The blanking plate 1 is perforated witha plurality of holes 3 arranged in two rows equally spaced about thecentral elongate axis of the blanking plate 1. The holes 3 in each roware equally spaced from each other and are arranged laterally in pairs.A resilient brace according to an embodiment of the present inventioncan be formed by folding the blanking plate 1 in alternate directionsalong fold lines 5. The fold lines 5 are arranged to pass through pairsof the holes 3, with the exception of the outer two fold lines that arearranged to pass equidistant between two pairs of holes 3. Thisarrangement of fold lines directly influences the operation of theresilient brace in a manner that will be described further below withreference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 shows a resilient brace formed from the blanking plate of FIG. 1.The resilient brace 7 has first and second planar attachment portions 9,11 located in a common plane at either end of the brace 7. The centralpart of the blanking plate 1 is folded in alternate directions alonglines 5 to form a resilient portion 13 extending between the first andsecond attachment portions 9,11. Successive planar sections 15 betweenthe fold lines 5 extend laterally of the common plane and are orientatedat an angle θ with respect to one another.

In use, when the resilient brace is connected between two portions ofstud walling, for example the individual frames of a twin framepartition, stresses act along the axis of the resilient brace in saidcommon plane. The planar sections 15 of the resilient portion 13 of thebrace 7 extend laterally of this stress axis. That is to say, the planarsections 15 extend to either one side or the other of the stress axis,or extend across it.

The remaining holes in the first and second attachment portions 9,11facilitate the attachment of the resilient brace 7 to respectiveportions of the stud walling.

As indicated above with reference to FIG. 1, the fold lines 5 betweenthe planar sections 15 at the extremities of the resilient region 13 andthe respective attachment portions 9, 11 occur where there are no holesin the original blanking plate. In contrast, the remaining fold linesintersect pairs of holes 3, thereby reducing the stiffness of the ‘fold’and increasing the resilience of that portion of the brace. Thus, when acompressive or tensile force is applied along the axis of the attachmentportions 9, 11 the majority of deflection occurs between adjacent planarsections 15, rather than between the outer planar sections 15 and theadjacent attachment portions. Vibration along the axis of the resilientbrace 7 is thus accommodated by the opening and closing action betweenadjacent planar sections 15. The use of spring steel provides the brace7 with the inherent resilience to absorb acoustic vibrations yet stillhave the strength and elasticity to act as a load bearing member withoutundergoing plastic deformation.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 the angle between adjacent planarsections 15 is such that successive planar sections 15 extendprogressively along the stress axis. This advantageously avoids the“rolling up” effect experienced by resilient braces known in the priorart.

Preferably, the resilient portion 13 of the resilient brace comprisesfour planar sections 15, as this configuration has been found to providegood absorption of acoustic vibrations whilst being relatively compact.However, it will be appreciated that any number of planar sections 15may be used to form the resilient portion 13 of the brace 7, down to aminimum of two. Where three or more planar members 15 are used,preferably at least one of the planar sections will extern across thestress axis.

FIG. 4 shows a resilient brace 7 according to embodiments of the presentinvention in use. The resilient brace 7 is secured to first and secondportions 17,19 of the stud walling by means of, for example, screws ornails driven through the holes 3 in the attachment portions 9,11. Theresilient brace 7 therefore allows vibrational movement in the directionof the double headed arrow A between the first and second portions 17,19of the stud walling by virtue of the opening and closing action betweenthe planar sections 15 as previously explained.

FIG. 5 shows a further example of resilient brace 7 in use toresiliently brace a first portion of stud walling 17 with respect to asecond portion of stud walling 19. However, in this example, the firstand second portions of stud walling 17,19 are located a greater distanceapart that the distance between the opposite ends of the resilient brace7. A extension piece 21 is therefore secured to the second attachmentportion 11 of the resilient brace and is also secured to the secondportion 19 of the stud walling. The extension piece 21 may be any linearmember suitable for securing to both the resilient brace and the studwall portion. For example, the extension piece 21 may comprise a lengthof U-shaped channel section, or may be one of the blanking plates 1 usedto form the resilient brace 7, or even a second resilient brace.Alternatively, the resilient brace may be manufactured with attachmentportions of unequal length, to accommodate differing separations of studwall portions.

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b show further examples of resilient braces according tothe present invention. FIG. 6 a shows a resilient brace 7′ in which theresilient portion 13′ comprises six planar sections 15′. Thisarrangement provides a resilient brace that can absorb vibrations of arelatively large amplitude, due to the increased length of the resilientportion.

FIG. 6 b shows a resilient brace 7′ in which the resilient portion 13″has two individual sections 23, each comprising a number of successiveplanar sections 15″. The individual sections 23 are interconnected by aspacing member 25.

The resilient brace may also be used in the construction of suspendedceilings. In this case the brace is used to secure a suspended ceilingpanel from a fixed, ceiling support Although the brace is in tension dueto the weight of the suspended ceiling panel, it behaves in the samemanner as described previously in relation to partition wall panels andprovides similar advantages.

1. A resilient brace for connecting together first and second elements of a stud wall, the resilient brace comprising first and second attachment portions attachable to the first and second stud wall elements respectively, the first and second attachment portions being located substantially on a stress axis along which stresses act between said stud wall elements, the resilient brace further comprising an intermediate resilient portion extending between the attachment portions as a continuous extension thereof with at least three successive planar portions angled relative to one another and the attachment portions by means of respective folds so that each planar portion extends laterally of the stress axis, characterized in that wherein: each fold between adjacent planar portions is perforated by two holes arranged in two rows equally spaced about the central axis of the brace, with the exception of outer folds between the planar sections at the extremities of the resilient portion and the respective attachment portions, said outer folds being arranged to pass equidistant between two pairs of holes.
 2. A resilient brace as claimed in claim 1, wherein successive planar portions extend laterally one way and then the other relative to said stress axis and progressively in one direction along said stress axis.
 3. A resilient brace as claimed in claim 1 or, wherein one or more of said planar portions extends across said stress axis.
 4. A resilient brace as claimed in claim 1, wherein said brace is symmetrical about a central plane normal to said stress axis.
 5. A resilient brace according to claim 1, wherein said successive planar portions are angled relative to one another at substantially the same angle.
 6. A resilient brace according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of resilient portions interconnected by one or more further elements extending along or in parallel with the stress axis.
 7. A resilient brace according to claim 1, wherein said brace is manufactured from spring steel.
 8. (canceled)
 9. A stud wall comprising first and second wall portions and a resilient brace connecting together said first and second wall portions, wherein the resilient brace comprises a resilient brace according to claim
 1. 